U.S. Geological Survey grant to fund ag study of PFAS in small watersheds
| psu.edu
Researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences have received a grant of nearly $309,000 from the U.S. Geological Survey, part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, to study the movement and impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in small agricultural watersheds across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
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Why Pennsylvania’s low-income residents are feeling the squeeze as gas prices rise
When gas prices rise, not everyone feels the pain equally. For low-income and rural Pennsylvanians, a trip to the gas station can mean choosing between a full tank and groceries.
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Wildfires strike Florida, Georgia and America’s ‘wood basket’
| nytimes.com
Large fires, fueled by a record breaking drought, have been destroying homes and timber plantations in Southeastern states. This article quotes IEE Associate Director Erica Smithwick.
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New reactor design produces renewable methane from carbon dioxide
An international team, led by Penn State’s Institute of Energy and the Environment Director Bruce Logan, has developed a new reactor design that efficiently converts carbon dioxide and renewable electricity into methane — the primary component of natural gas — while scaling the system up by roughly an order of magnitude without sacrificing performance.
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Collaboration drives community-based bioeconomy innovation in Brazilian Amazon
| psu.edu
An international project led by a Penn State team is helping to identify how community-based bioeconomies in the Brazilian Amazon can support forest conservation while increasing income opportunities for the traditional and Indigenous communities that protect and manage these landscapes.
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Sustainable Labs Program concludes fourth year, expands impact across campuses
| psu.edu
The Penn State Sustainable Labs Program continues to expand its reach across campuses while advancing efforts to reduce the environmental impact of research spaces. The 2025–26 cohort included 20 labs spanning multiple colleges, with seven labs recertifying after participating in the program’s inaugural 2022–23 cohort. The program supports research teams in adopting sustainable practices without compromising scientific discovery, with participation remaining free to all labs.
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Jack Rumery
Jack Rumery -
Krista Bailey
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Carolee Bull
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Stephen Chmely
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Gary Felton
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Enrique Gomez
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Zuleima Karpyn
Associate Dean for Graduate Education and Research; Professor, John and Willie Leone Department of Energy & Mineral Engineering (EME) -
Stephanie Law
Associate Professor and Norris B. McFarlane Faculty Career Development Associate Professor, Materials Science and Engineering -
Joshua Robinson
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Hilal Ezgi Toraman
Assistant Professor, John and Willie Leone Department of Energy & Mineral Engineering (EME) -
Charles Anderson
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Paul Cremer
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Danielle Hickey
Danielle Hickey -
Christine Keating
Christine Keating -
Zhiqiang Mao
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Mary Ann Smith
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Zhiwen Liu
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Odette Mina
Penn State names five new Evan Pugh University Professors
| psu.edu
Five Penn State professors have been named Evan Pugh University Professors, the University’s highest faculty honor, effective July 1. They are W. Niel Brandt, Eberly Family Chair Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics; Long-Qing Chen, Hamer Professor of Materials Science and Engineering; Runze Li, Eberly Family Chair Professor of Statistics; Karen Thole, professor of mechanical engineering; and Adri van Duin, distinguished professor of mechanical engineering.
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Niel Brandt
Niel Brandt -
Long-Qing Chen
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Karen A. Thole
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Adri van Duin
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Neeli Bendapudi
Neeli BendapudiPresident, Penn State
Faculty expertise: Eastern blazes
| pennstatermag.com
Wildfire preparedness is of utmost importance for many East Coast communities, says geography professor Erica Smithwick, who’s leading a new research effort to that end.
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Undergraduate research helps launch geography senior’s next chapter
| psu.edu
Penn State senior Isabel Rivera found her passion through undergraduate geography research that took her from classroom learning and data analysis to fieldwork in South Africa.
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Penn State Extension bee monitoring workshop abuzz with new highlights on bees
| psu.edu
The López-Uribe Lab recently held its sixth annual Pennsylvania Bee Monitoring Workshop, an event in which scientists and Master Gardener volunteers gathered to share updates about data collected in previous years, review monitoring protocols and discuss the focus of the study for the upcoming year.
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Margarita López-Uribe
Lorenzo L. Langstroth Early Career Professor and Associate Professor, Entomology
Why delaying climate action now means higher seas by 2100 – new research
Imagine your favourite sunny beach. Anywhere will do. You look out and see the ocean stretching to the horizon. To a glaciologist, that view is not just water; it’s melted ice. A new study shows that the best-case sea-level rise scenarios may now be out of reach.
Authors
Detailed 3D Smithsonian specimen models enable far-reaching research
Penn State researchers in the Center for Quantitative Imaging (CQI) used advanced image processing to create high-resolution computer-generated 3D models, called meshes, and visualizations of polychaete worms for the Smithsonian Institution. The digital models of these aquatic segmented worms preserve the biological specimens in detail and allow researchers worldwide to examine key anatomical features without handling the original material.
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